1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible printed circuit board and a liquid crystal display device including the same, and more particularly, to a flexible printed circuit board which allows lamps to remain lit even when open portions occur in wiring terminals which extend to the lamps, and a liquid crystal display device including the flexible printed circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (“LCD”) device is a commonly used type of flat panel display. In general, the LCD device, which includes two panels each having a plurality of electrodes disposed thereon and a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween, controls a transmittance of light incident to the two panels by applying voltages to electrodes of the plurality of electrodes. As a result, orientations of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer are arranged to display an image on the LCD.
The LCD device typically includes an LCD panel for displaying the image, as well as a backlight assembly for supplying the LCD panel with light, since the LCD device is a passive light-emitting device.
The backlight assembly emits light using a flexible printed circuit board having lamps, such as light emitting diodes (“LEDs”), for example, mounted thereon, and a lamp driving printed circuit board. Typically, the flexible printed circuit board having the lamps mounted thereon is electrically connected to the lamp driving printed circuit board using wiring disposed on one or, alternatively, both surfaces thereof.
However, portions of the wiring disposed on the flexible printed circuit board and, more specifically, portions to which external power is applied, are not covered with a cover film. As a result, cracks occur in the portions of the wirings not covered with the cover film, resulting in open-circuits in the wirings, causing interruptions in the external power supplied to the lamps, thereby preventing the lamps from turning on, substantially decreasing a display quality of the LCD device.